Wales, Devon and Cornwall Aug 09

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Late in August we joined Liz and Co for a few days camping in Wales then went on down/across to Cornwall - finishing with a weekend in Plymouth before heading home again.
Liz had taken the children to Wales (near St David’s) to camp for a week in a Teepee. We joined them for the last 3 days and, as Phil had finished the hay-making by then, we took him and Jack as well. It was a long drive but well worth it. The camp ground is in a farmer’s field but there were only 10 sites - so we weren’t on top of the other campers and the showers etc were perfectly adequate. Also staying were two lots of relatives - one in a caravan and one in a tent. The night before we arrived there had been a big storm (this was Wales, after all!) and the tent had blown down - the caravan occupancy rate doubled for the rest of the night. Liz had hired the Teepee which is on a permanent site and had fared a little better - apart from the rain coming in through the gaps in the canvas and dripping on the beds! By the time we arrived around midday it had all been sorted and actually had the appearance of being very calm and organised.
We spent the next two days seeing what we could around the local area - St David’s and the Cathedral, Whitesand Bay, Abereiddy Slate Quarry, Melin Trgwynth Woollen Mill, Fishgard etc before we travelled to Newcastle Emlyn to stay the night with Jess’s parents.
St Davids is very quaint and has the status of smallest City in UK - courtesy of the Cathedral which was very peaceful inside and decorated with wood panelling all beautifully carved. The nearby Whitesand Bay is on the most western point of Wales - so about as far away as you can get - and the day we went there it was blowing a gale (see pic below of dressing for the beach!). Jack was not enjoying it at all and when we offered to take him for a walk he was very eager - until he realised we were heading for the cliff-walk and not the car! However, this did not stop the swimmers and surfers - they must be a very hardy bunch over here. We ventured around the coast a little to the old Slate Quarry at Abereiddy - long after the mining had finished the sea broke through the wall and now the sea washes in and out with each tide. There were quite a few families with picnics by the shore or swimming in the sheltered water and also a number of people in wetsuits and helmets clambering over the rocks through the waves and jumping off the cliffs - we found later they were Coasteering, a new activity which involves getting around the shore-line by any means possible.
We drove further up the coast to the old fishing town of Fishguard - this was the site of the last invasion of Britain in 1797 when the French landed a shipload of soldiers. The event is commemorated by a most interesting tapestry in the local library (free to view) which was made by locals on the 200th anniversary. We walked through the town to where we could look down on the harbour - it looked so nice we drove there and had our lunch in the car parked on the wharf - watching the local (junior) fishermen and walkers as they went to and fro along the road. It reminded us of sitting on Devonport wharf in the summer. We found the old woollen mill at Melin Trgwynth which was where Juliana had got the lovely blanket which she had given me for my birthday - Wendy managed to find a square of nice cloth in the bargain-bin and it will be made into a cushion cover when we get home. I managed to find a nice flat-cap which I think makes me look very much like a local - rather than a tourist! It was a nice couple of days exploring this lovely corner of Wales and enjoying the peace and quiet of life in a campsite - especially as the storms had well and truly gone by the time we arrived.
Leaving the campsite on a wet and windy day we drove through Cardigan (although we didn’t see any locals dressed in their cardies) and visited the Dolcauthi Gold Mine - once again a NT property we could visit on our HPT membership so the underground tour was not very expensive. Having previously visited a Coal Mine and Slate Mine, this rounded our experiences off nicely - and I could no longer resist the Authentic (replica) brass and copper Miners Lamp calling to me from the shelf in the souvenir shop!! We spent the night with the others staying with Jess’s parents at Newcastle Emlyn - and helped them celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary before heading to Cardiff for a night with Juliana and Steve. It was a very quick visit this time as we were only stopping there to break the journey but still managed to spend a lot of time chatting (of course!). We were on our way again in the morning when they had both gone to work - thanks again for the bed Jules!
We were booked into the Hostel at Cheddar Gorge for the Monday night so, after sighting the hostel sign we drove up the gorge, eventually found a park and walked along the main street. It is VERY tourist oriented and we didn’t bother buying the all-in-one ticket to the caves and other attractions - although we DID visit the genuine Cheddar Gorge Cheese factory. I bought a nice piece of Cave-matured Cheddar which I never got to enjoy as I left it in the fridge at Chris and Margaret’s the day before we got home - hope they enjoyed it! We still had the afternoon free so went to visit nearby Boggle Hole. It had recently been in the news when they interviewed more than 300 people for the position of resident witch of the caves. The witch had lived in the cave (a long time ago!) and become a local legend. We did the Cave Tour and although it was most interesting it must have been the her day off as there was no sign of the witch - although the shadows of some of the odd-shaped rock formations would have given you a bit of a start if you were exploring by torch (or candle) light. In the better lit part of the cave we saw cages with racks of cheddar cheeses slowly maturing and taking in the atmosphere. Hmmm, looking forward to that piece I bought a couple of hours ago! The cave business had been purchased some time previously by a company which has a deep involvement with the Circus - there is a large entertainment area once you exit the caves, all circus-themed and including a display of circus wagons - there is also a Circus Training school. Would be a great place to take kids - but it was getting late so we headed for the hostel and a good night’s sleep.
From Cheddar we headed to Boscastle on the north Cornish coast where we spent the next two nights - on the way we stopped at Dunster Castle for a look (once again courtesy of our HPT it was free) and had a nice picnic on the grass. This is a “proper” castle, high on the top of a hill, big stone walls, dungeon and all that - we had a quick look around and got the feeling that we were suffering from “tourist fatigue” as all of the big stately homes were starting to look the same inside! We next visited the two coastal holiday towns of Linton and Linmouth - one at the top of a cliff and one at the bottom. There is a cliff railway joining the two which is more than 100 years old - it is a two-car balanced system which uses water from a nearby river as ballast to move the cars up and down. Zero energy required so very environmentally friendly and extremely innovative for the time. We had to hurry back to the car as our pay-and-display had run out but luckily we were not caught by the parking warden! We then headed for Ilfracombe - but not before TomTom had taken us up a very narrow road which eventually ended in a closed gate! We managed to back up and turn around without too much trouble and were soon on the right road again. Ilfracombe is another lovely seaside holiday destination which is unique in having tunnels through the coastal hills to get access to the sea - they were dug during the 19th Century by Welsh miners and they also constructed sea walls to create two bathing beaches - a His and a Hers. There is only the Hers beach remaining and now, in these more enlightened times, available for all bathers - lots of people there with deck chairs and sun shelters (or is that wind shelters?) as well as buckets and spades digging in the sand.
We had visited the pretty village of Boscastle for a few hours on our last trip 5 years ago - only a couple of weeks before it was devastated by a huge flood. The photos and reports of the flood are just amazing and it was a complete miracle that no-one was killed - the YHA Hostel is the last building right next to the river and photos show the water coming in the front door about 1 metre deep and pouring out the windows. The whole village has been rebuilt, river deepened and widened, bridges raised and a spillway constructed - it is hoped that if there is another such event (8 inches of rain in 4 hours) the water will be able to get away without causing nearly so much damage.
We spent the next two days exploring the north coast of Cornwall - although we had to change our plans to fit in with the weather we still saw the main attractions. We drove to St Ives in the rain and, while we didn’t stop there, Wendy managed to leap out and get a postcard and magnet while I waited in a loading zone - TomTom then led us through some very interesting small streets on the way back out of town again (what Pedestrian Zone - Service Vehicles Only sign?). We then went on down to Lands End as I had never made it that far - despite being stationed in Plymouth for 6 months in 1980! The rain stopped enough to park, walk to the Last House and take a couple of snaps before heading back again. Wendy had visited 14 years ago and noted that the whole area was just as commercialised as it had ever been. We made our way up to Padstow where we found one of Rick Stein’s restaurants - Rick didn’t come out to invite us in so we didn’t bother. The rain had stopped by then so we treated ourselves to Fish and Chips, found a seat on the quayside where we sat and looked at the boats in the harbour while we had our lunch. We took ourselves to the famous Jamaica Inn - and found ourselves rather under-whelmed by the whole thing. Hard to see where the smugglers came in to it as it is miles from the sea (although the surrounding Bodmin Moor would have provided plenty of hiding places) and we certainly had no interest in Daphne du-Maurier so didn’t go to that exhibition. We did however, visit the bar and had a pint (Ian) and a coffee (Wendy) - and got the post card and fridge magnet. The drive across the moors was really nice though as the heather was in full colour and looked just great.
Next day we were booked into the Beer YHA and on the way visited the unusual village of Clovelly. It is privately owned and the cobbled streets are so steep there is no wheeled traffic at all. All deliveries are done by wooden sledges - the friction of the wood runners on the cobbles stops them getting away too fast. Deliveries on the steep streets used to be done by donkeys but these are now retired from freight duties and instead stay in the field by the car-park and give rides to the children in the summer. We had an interesting tour of the Finch Foundry which is a water powered forge owned by National Trust (free entry again!) - although it was more interesting for one of us than the other! It is the only original water-powered Forge in England and there was a demonstration of heating metal in the coke fire and beating it with water powered hammers - very noisy and hot! We had our picnic in the car-park and walked around the Quaker cemetery behind the workshop before heading off to see the Clapper Bridge at Postbridge and the village of Widdicombe-in-the-Moor (Uncle Tom Cobbley and all) - both were places we had visited before but were quite happy to go back for another look. Then on to the Hostel - which was a great place only spoiled by Wendy having to vacate the dorm to the lounge so she could get some sleep away from the snoring. I was quite amused when I went to the bar for a drink before dinner - he asked what I was having and I think was a bit perplexed when I said that there was only one thing I should be having in a town with that name - a Beer! Was nice too. We went to the beach the next morning on the way out of town - it is a very pretty pebbly beach with the boats drawn up and resting on their cradles, beach huts nestling against the cliffs and rows of empty deck chairs with their seats flapping in the stiff cool breeze. Then to Sidmouth and the Donkey Sanctuary - Wendy visits every time we are in the vicinity and, once again, it was so nice to see the good work being done in rescuing the otherwise unwanted donkeys. It was a dark and damp day so when it started raining again we were forced to retire to the tea-rooms and partake of our very first Devon Cream Tea - one serving of the scones, cream and jam between the two of us was more than enough! We called at Torquay on the way to Plymouth and found that the Agatha Christie shop was part of the Tourist Information centre - so we bought a new Murder Mystery Dinner kit which was able to be used during a birthday dinner in October. Once again it was not a very nice day but we still managed to eat Pasties for lunch while sitting by the water - didn’t get wet although it was windy and cool.
We then spent a most enjoyable couple of days with our friends Chris and Margaret in Plymouth - we had some nice walks in the country with Barb and Roy who were also staying and managed to fit in yet another Cream Tea while sitting in a café in Salcombe looking over the harbour. Reminded us very much of the Bay of Islands with the hills and all of the boats coming and going on the water. After nearly two weeks away we made it back home on the Sunday of a long weekend and were very happy to just stop and put our feet up for a while - until the next time!

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Photos

Tepee and kitchen
Tepee sleeps 5, cook-space gives good shelter from all except the stormiest weather. Very comfortable camping.

Jack at the Beach
He was not enjoying the weather at all!

Slate Quarry at Abereiddy
Lots of family groups swimming and enjoying the sunshine out of the wind.

Fishguard Harbour
Looked so nice from up here we went down and had lunch in the car parked by the sea.

Dolcauthi Gold Mine
All kitted up with helmet, battery and light ready to brave the depths of the gold mine. Bet you didn't know there were gold mines in Wales!

Melin Trgwynth
Very descriptive structure outside the Woollen Mill. Unfortunately the looms were not working the day we were there but it IS a working mill.

Dunster Castle
Was closed when we first went in - but opened a few minutes later on the dot of 11 o'clock.

Street in St Ives
Stuck behind a delivery vehicle in the narrow streets - couldn't complain as it was actually a pedestrian area with only service vehicles allowed. We hadn't seen the sign 'till it was too late - oops.

Padstow Harbour
We shared a bench while we ate our Fish'n'Chip lunch.

Clapper Bridge
Originally meant to Bridge the Stepping-Stones - so it is a bridge with stone slabs resting on stone piers.

Beach at Beer
Cold, windy and deserted. But very beautiful.

Donkeys - again.
But, yes. They ARE lovely.

Salcombe Harbour
Reminded us very much of the scenery at Opua and Okiato, Bay of Islands.

Camping.
Back from the showers. Couldn't get the "To the Showers" photo as the camera fogged up when I got it from the cold car!

Dressed for the beach.
It was windy and cold!!

Ancient Burial Chamber
Mini Stonehange at Petre Ifan, Wales